Iwata: facial recognition for Wii U controller possible

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has touted the potential for facial recognition in the controller for the new studio console the Wii U.

Speaking on Iwata Asks, a series of video interviews conducted by Iwata on the official Nintendo website, the company boss said the potential for facial recognition was there in the technology.

“It certainly seems possible from an engineering standpoint that the camera will recognize you if you position the new controller to look at you,” he said.

The notion was given attention in the Wii U launch video shown at Nintendo’s E3 press event yesterday, in which a woman uses facial recognition within the controller to access her WiiFit information using only the controller and a Balance Board.

Iwata singled this out as an exciting example of how the controller could change the process of using a console significantly.

“It would be much more accessible if all you have to do is to hold it [a controller], press a button and stand on the Wii Balance Board.”